Charles Forbes Resigns Veterans Bureau Amid Massive Corruption Scandal

Veterans Bureau Director Charles Forbes resigned from Paris after President Harding confronted him at the White House, allegedly grabbing him by the throat and shouting “You double-crossing bastard!” Forbes had embezzled money, accepted bribes, and sold nearly 7 million dollars of desperately needed hospital supplies for only 600,000 dollars despite presidential orders to stop. Congressional testimony revealed Forbes accepted a 5,000 dollar bribe at the Drake Hotel to secure 17 million dollars in hospital construction contracts. He sold brand new hospital bedsheets for 20 cents that the Veterans Bureau was purchasing for one dollar. With a 500 million dollar annual budget overseeing 30,000 employees, Forbes systematically defrauded disabled World War I veterans. Bureau general counsel Charles F. Cramer committed suicide on March 14, 1923, one week after resigning. Forbes was later convicted of conspiracy to defraud the government, fined 10,000 dollars, and served 20 months at Leavenworth. Investigations revealed the Ohio Gang cost the government an estimated 2 billion dollars during Harding’s administration.